In this dazzling story of art and illusion secrets and schemes who is to be trusted - and what is realFrom the internationally acclaimed author of Optic Nerve a New York Times Notable Book 2019A writer who feels immediately important ObserverAt a hotel in Buenos Aires a woman checks in under a pseudonym. She wears a black fur shawl and has no luggage. She is alone.Over the coming days and nights she tells a story which begins with a secret shared in a local bath house revealing art forgery and fraud on a dazzling scale. At its heart is an enigmatic genius who for years forged portraits of the citys elite before disappearing without trace. It is a story of influence and intrigue in which nothing is as it seems. Were not to expect names numbers or dates she cautions but a more subtle kind of reckoning...Told in a mordant irresistible voice and full of sharp surprises Portrait of an Unknown Lady is a captivating enquiry into what we mean by authenticity in life as in art. At once poised and capricious elegant and bold it is a thrilling exploration of the relationships between what is lived what is told what is remembered and what is real.Translated from the Spanish by Thomas Bunstead Read more